Fiction Submissions

The Great Escape is a mixed media site featuring web published fiction, comics and films. We also publish fiction and comic* books in print and electronic media. You can find out more about our existing publications on our Books Page. We currently publish anthologies of short fiction and we are planning to expand into publishing a select number of stand-alone titles in the future.

We love welcoming new contributors, so if you’d like to get involved and see your fiction on the site, or in one of our published books you can email us at [email protected] or use our contact form.

If you would be interested in having us publish a stand alone short story (5000-1000 words) or novella (<35,000) please send a query with a short synopsis. Include as much detail as you can in your covering email.

We are not currently accepting submissions for novels.

Web Publication

Most fiction selected to feature on the website will be offered the opportunity to be included in one of our yearly anthologies.

We are actively looking for:

Short Stories – prose stories between 1000 and 3000 words

We are also considering the following:

We will consider longer prose pieces that can be broken down into 1000-3000 word instalments. If you have an idea for a multi part story, send us the first instalment and a synopsis of the rest of the story (if you have one).

Interested in longer / more regular contributions?

If you’d like to make regular contributions or contribute a longer, multi-part story, introduce yourself; tell us a bit about yourself and your writing so we can discuss how you can get involved and how we can work with you. (Submissions will still be considered on a piece by piece basis; this is not an employed position).

Genres

We are looking for fiction with an element of escapism. Things which take the reader to another time and/or place and deal with challenges outside our common, everyday experiences. Speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal etc), romance, adventure, horror and comedy are all great.

Real life tragedy, lifestyle, hard life tales or stories which deal with everyday challenges are examples of what we’re not looking for.

If you’re not sure, you can always contact us with a short synopsis to inquire if your idea is suitable.

Unsuitable Content

Submissions should, in general, be suitable for (though not necessarily aimed at) a 15+ audience. Please avoid graphic sexual content and extreme graphic violence. If you are unsure whether something is suitable, just ask.

Submitting your work

You can submit your work by email. We do not accept postal submissions at this time. Follow these guidelines:

Include your name and email address so we can contact you.

Either include your submission in the text of an email or as an attachment. We accept the following formats – .doc .docx .rtf .odf .txt. Please don’t submit PDFs.

Include the title of your piece.

Include the words “fiction submission” in your email subject.

Proof read your work carefully and avoid unusual formatting, such as bold and underlined text.

Reprints, simultaneous and multiple submissions

We will consider all of the above within reason. For reprints, please let us know when and where it was previously published. For simultaneous submissions, please notify us if a piece we are considering has been accepted elsewhere. Please use your judgement and keep multiple submissions to a reasonable amount, e.g. up to 3 short stories, up to 10 short poems.

Contracts & Payment

If we select your submission for inclusion on the website, we’ll ask you to agree to a short written contract granting us a non-exclusive distribution license for your work for a fixed 3 months after which we will continue to display the story unless you request it be removed.

If your piece is chosen for inclusion in one of our anthologies or other publications, we’ll contact you with an invitation and a sample publication contact.

There is no payment for web publication. A portion of the profits from anthology sales will be split between the contributors. These royalties are payable on any and all sales of the publication.

Fees (or the lack thereof) and Competitions

Please also note, there are no fees for submission. We also run competitions with specific submission requirements (also no fee), and you can read about these on our Competitions Page.

* We do not currently have an open submission policy for comic writers or artists. If you are interested in getting involved, email us to discuss the options.